Road signs round here seem to be calculated to give parents nightmares:
It's been getting more and more desolate and isolated out here, I see why they used to think of the great plains as a desert now. No trees anymore, just stunted grassland. The air is getting drier and colder, you can feel your mouth getting dry as you breathe, and water consumption has gone up. Better carry a bit more on the bike from now on. Pretty sure I saw a baby rattlesnake on the road today too, didn't stop to investigate. Also, a cool moment, I saw my first ever tumbleweed! Rolled across the road right in front of me, and after that I could see plenty of them sailing across the fields.It's due to be below freezing tonight, and it wasn't far off last night, I had to buy some warmer gloves today to stop my fingers falling off. In the cold weather the rattlesnakes are renowned for coming into your tent to get your body heat, which along with the high winds kinda puts me off camping. If I wake up to see one of those things in my tent's porch I'm gonna be slitting the back of the tent and escaping sharpish.
After fighting a 30mph headwind all day yesterday I finished up in Laverne, Oklahoma, a tiny 1 bar town, it was quite run down, lots of stuff closed or abandoned. I went to the bar, after accidentally calling at the christian youth centre called 'the spot', which sounded like a bar to me. Wasn't my scene at all so went round the corner to the branding iron, which was just like the bar in the deer hunter.
After Laverne I rode 75 miles through the Oklahoman Panhandle here to Liberal, crossing the border into Kansas as I did so. Saw about 3 settlements in that time, each of them tiny, with long long stretches of empty land in between. I like it. The rolling hills have disappeared, laying bare the underlying structure of the land, a gentle staircase over a thousand miles long, running from the gulf of mexico to the rockies. This is exactly what i wanted from this trip, new experiences, and to feel the geography changing across a whole continent. The panhandle is so empty that almost every car and truck waved or tooted, which felt pretty good.
Strong winds are the norm out here, as people tell me every time I stop, so I'm just going with the flow, less miles in a headwind, more on a tailwind, sit back and relax. Everyone also tells me I've come at just the right time, as in a few weeks it'll be over 100 degrees F (nearly 40C), which I've been in before in India but can't imagine riding in it. It's still snowing around Denver though, which I'll be at in a few days time, so things are gonna get interesting! I saw a house and outbuildings today that I'm sure had been hit by a tornado in the last year or two, it was utterly devastated. Luckily I'm pretty much through Tornado Alley.
At lunchtime I met a cool little dude called Jared, here he is showing off his Mongoose, which he's had for 8 years even though he's only 6. We had a long session of serious technical bike talk, and he rode through the village a little bit to see me off ("well I guess I'd best let you go then, mister"). I wouldn't be suprised to see him welding bottle cages onto his bike tomorrow, and hitting the road the day after:
I was really sad to see him go, it was cool to have a bike buddy for an hour.
From here I think I'm gonna head north to Garden City, then due west to Pueblo, where I'll hire a car, drive to boulder, chill for a few days, pick up Bert on sat night, let him acclimatise on sunday with perhaps a supported ride, then ditch the car on Monday and head off. That means I miss out all the big city hassle and finish my solo adventure without hating the last 30 miles or so. That's about 300 odd miles from here, so should be there mid next week. Batteries felt a little low early this week, but they seem to have suddenly recharged after the short day in Watonga followed by a swim and spa in Woodward's Holiday Inn. So I'm feeling good to go for Pueblo, then have some quality rest time there. I admit it will also be good to go somewhere cosmopolitan and outside the bible belt! Religion can get a little oppressive here, it's everywhere. Restaurants within a few hundred feet of churches aren't allowed to serve alcohol, in fact it's at least a week since I was able to get booze with my meal. So now I'm craving wine. Lovely wine.
Cooch, thanks for all the route info, i gotta get me a colorado map and digest what you said, I can stand some more isolated regions though no problem.
2 comments:
Hi Kelv - Liberal at 2851 ft, and on to Garden City at 2950 ft - that's one hell of a climb in only 70 miles of riding!
Before I forget, you are probably aware of this site, which has good downloadable maps, and latest information on road status. Invaluable if traveling into the mountains and National Parks. For instance, the road into Mt. Rainier NP from the East has a tentative opening date of 9 May.
http://www.nps.gov/mora/
Guess what -
HISTORY LESSON!
I have 6 weighty books in front of me, all of the Internet and a bit of knowledge, and am wondering how I can impart the importance of the railways to the history of the US. I could seriously go on for hours, believe me!
So I'll try and keep it concise and to the point.
From 1842 to the onset of the Civil War, the US Army conducted surveys of the West. I'm only mentioning this as an excuse to describe the exploits of John Charles Frémont, who had previously explored Cherokee country in 1836-1837 as a Corps of Topographical Engineers member, and later lead surveys of the Des Moines River.
In 1842 Congress funded his first trip into the Rockies, and he explored the West until 1848, when he lead a rag-tag band of French voyageurs and mountain men into the hills.
During these exploits, he teamed up with Kit Carson, his scientific collection was lost when his boat capsized on the North Platte River, he mistook the Klamath River for the Sacramento, he rebelled and instigated the Bear Flag Revolt against New Mexico ( for which he was later court-martialed), many of his men perished in the snows of the San Juan Mountains, and before his starving, impoverished crew were rescued in 1849, at least 2 had been cannibalized.
That's what I call a story!
The Pacific Railroad Survey Bill of 1853 paved the way for ripping down the frontier for ever. Eastern cities vied to be the termini of these routes. Vicksburg, Memphis, Cairo, St Louis, Springfield and Chicago all made their claims. From 1849-1855 bands of surveyors were dispatched West to find a route.
There was something Romantic about this time, as Artists, Scientists, Botanists, Geologists, Cartographers and Engineers pursued a common goal. Many perished along the way, but their extraordinary findings testify to the achievements of the Great Pacific Railroad Surveys.
The "Southern Route" along the 32nd parallel West of Vicksburg was championed by Jefferson Davis (later head of the Confederate States) in order to promote the profile of the South in Congress and spread slavery. Moving Northwards, Lt. Amiel Weeks Whipple lead a party along the 35th parallel, Lt. John W. Gunnison sought a route between the 38th and 39th parallels, but was killed by Ute in 1853. His deputy Lt. E. G. Beckwith took over and found a route over the Sierra Nevada, but his proposal was largely ignored. Further North Isaac I. Stevens struck out from St Paul, to explore a route between the 47th and 49th parallel.
Beckwith's route turned out to be the most sustainable, but it was only in 1869 that Northern Capitalists were able to push though the "Great Central Route". Gangs from the west and east famously met at Promontory Point, Utah on May 10, 1869, and a "Golden Spike" was ceremoniously driven into the last sleeper. Cue national euphoria and the end to Wagon trains, the Pony Express and to an extent, the Canals.
Traveling North into Kansas, you may encounter another early transcontinental line soon - the Denver Union Pacific, but I'm not sure of the chronology, the routes or the companies involved to be honest. What I do know is that on January 6, 1893 the Great Northern Railroad, from Duluth / St Paul to Seattle was complete - the fifth transcontinental route.
I may revisit the subject again {yawn} to explain how the cities that expected prosperity by becoming the Eastern termini were eclipsed by another town. A lakeside town that numbered only 350 in 1833, 4,000 in 1840 and 30,000 in 1850. More than anywhere else, the railways benefitted that battlefield of American social change - Chicago.
Some wonderful old railway maps here...
http://www.cprr.org/Museum/Maps/
Stay safe Kelv - I hope Garden City proves more attractive than Larkana, Bhutto homeland and the "Garden City of Sindh", Pakistan. I was there 15 years ago and it was a real dump.
I hope its nicer than Welwyn Garden City too..
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